This invention relates to an auxiliary mirror particularly suited for use in cars and trucks. It is known to provide auxiliary mirrors or mirror attachments for use in association with an existing rearview mirror in a vehicle such as a truck or car. One of the primary reasons for providing such mirrors in the past has been to eliminate one or more blind spots that can not normally be seen by a driver using an ordinary rearview mirror. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,048,084 issued Aug. 7, 1962 to H. J. Iannuzzi teaches an auxiliary mirror that is attached by means of a clamping mechanism to the main rearview mirror. The auxiliary mirror is mounted on the horizontally extending rod which has a ball and socket joint at its lefthand end where the rod connects to the auxiliary mirror. This joint permits the plane of the auxiliary mirror to be placed at an angle relative to the plane of the main mirror.
A very recent U.S. Pat. No. 4,019,812 issued Apr. 26, 1977 to Elmo Carnine also teaches the use of auxiliary mirrors that can be connected to a vehicle's standard mirror for increasing the driver's vision. In this patent specification, the auxiliary mirrors are arranged either above or below the main mirror. Carnine teaches the mounting of two separate auxiliary mirrors on a single vertical pivot post. In the various embodiments taught by this specification, it is not possible to pivot the plane of the auxiliary mirrors about a horizontal axis.
One disadvantage of the commonly used rearview mirrors for vehicles and a disadvantage which can not be overcome with the auxiliary mirrors that have been used in the past is that of not providing an adequate view of the roadway and region located directly behind the vehicle for purposes of backing up the vehicle. With the commonly used rearview mirrors, there is a considerable distance extending rearwardly from the back end of the car which can not be seen by the driver both because of the position of the main mirror and the fact that the rear end of the car is blocking out a view of this region. Because of this problem with rearview mirrors, accidents occurring during the backing up of a vehicle are quite common and indeed such accidents can be very serious indeed if the object that is struck is a small child. Dogs and cats can also be struck quite easily if they stray behind the car after the driver has seated himself. Less serious accidents can also be caused by persons leaving objects on the driveway or road which are not seen by the driver when he backs up. The object itself can be damaged or destroyed or it can cause costly damage to the vehicle.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for providing a rearview which can be used to improve the view of a driver in the area directly behind the vehicle as it is being backed up.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a mirror device which has a dual function, the first being to eliminate a blind spot to the side of the car as it is being driven in a forward direction and the second being to improve the view of the driver immediately behind the car as it is being backed up.